Cristina Garcia (politician)
| Cristina Garcia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the California State Assembly from the 58th district | |
|
Assumed office December 3, 2012 | |
| Preceded by | new district |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
August 22, 1979 Bell Gardens, California |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Residence | Bell Gardens, California |
| Alma mater |
Pomona College (BS)/(BA) Claremont Graduate University (MA) |
| Profession | Teacher |
Cristina Garcia is an American politician serving in the California State Assembly. She is a Democrat representing the 58th Assembly District, which encompasses parts of southeastern Los Angeles County.
Garcia is the incumbent Chair of the Legislative Women’s Caucus, and served as the Caucus's Vice-Chair from 2014 to 2016. She also serves as a Commissioner on the State Commission on the Status of Women and Girls. She is also a member of the California Latino Legislative Caucus.
Before being elected to the Assembly in 2012, Garcia helped to form the local advocacy organization Bell Association to Stop the Abuse (BASTA) in response to the City of Bell corruption scandal.
Assembly career
Garcia served as Assistant Majority Floor Leader from 2014 to 2016.
As a legislator, with suspicions of corruption about the state Capitol, Garcia introduced an ethics and transparency package of bills, the "Political Conduct, Ethics and Public Trust Acts of 2014". Governor Jerry Brown signed five of her reform measures into law:
- AB 1673 - Eliminating Influence Peddling: prevent lobbyists from hosting political fundraisers at their homes and offices.
- AB 1666 - Penalties & Bribes: would double the existing restitution fines amounts and prohibit the use of campaign funds to pay a restitution fine under this section.
- AB 1692 - Personal Use of Campaign Funds: to prevent campaign funds from being used to pay for fines that are the result of abuse of personal use of campaign funds laws.
- AB 1596 - Vote by Mail: require all vote-by-mail applications, when completed, to be mailed directly to the county registrar’s office and not to middlemen or political campaign organizations.
- AB 1596 was Assemblymember Garcia’s “There Ought to be a Law” contest winner in 2014.
- AB 2040 - Detailed Disclosure of Government Compensation: requires salary details to be publicly disclosed on the local government websites.
Garcia also advocates on issues concerning Women and Children.
Garcia launched her Young Legislator’s program in 2014 to mentor high school students in her district to become legislators. Members are given hands-on experience, working within their communities, as they participate in events hosted by Garcia’s district office. Young Legislators who complete the program travel to the State Capitol in Sacramento, where they participate in bill development, mock committee hearings and a floor session in the State Assembly chambers.
A mathematics teacher for thirteen years prior to joining the Assembly, Garcia taught statistics at the University of Southern California, mathematics at Los Angeles City Community College and taught middle school and high school mathematics through the Jaime Escalante Program at East Los Angeles Community College and at Huntington Park High School.
She introduced AB 256, on Cyber-Bullying, which became law in 2013, giving educators the authority to discipline students who engage in cyber bullying on or off campus.
Garcia lives in the Southeast Los Angeles community of Bell Gardens, where she was raised and attended public schools. She went on to earn a bachelor's degree from Pomona College, a master's degree and a Secondary teaching credential from Claremont Graduate University and was accepted as a doctoral candidate at USC.
2014 California State Assembly Elections
| California's 58th State Assembly district election, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary election | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Cristina Garcia (incumbent) | 19,392 | 100.0 | |
| Total votes | 19,392 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Cristina Garcia (incumbent) | 43,182 | 100.0 | |
| Total votes | 43,182 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
2016 California State Assembly candidacy
| California's 58th State Assembly district election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary election | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Cristina Garcia (incumbent) | 56,052 | 100.0 | |
| Republican | Ramiro Alvarado (write-in) | 19 | 0.0 | |
| Total votes | 56,071 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Republican | Ramiro Alvarado | |||
| Democratic | Cristina Garcia (incumbent) | |||
| Total votes | ' | ' | ||
